NBA: Sixers' Holiday handling minutes with aplomb

NEW YORK — The fatigue Jrue Holiday’s experiencing is apparent. For the first time in his four-year career, he’s averaging more than 36 minutes per game.

“It’s been tiring,” he said. “Obviously, I won’t lie.”

The 76ers’ point guard, Holiday is poised to establish career-best per-game averages in minutes, points, assists and rebounds.

But with his increased playing time has come increased wear and tear. He’s played at least 40 minutes in 24 of the 72 games in which he’s appeared, heading into the Sixers’ game Tuesday in Brooklyn against the Nets. He missed four games in December with a tweaked ankle, and leads the league with 3.8 turnovers per game.

Not to mention that Holiday has shot 12-for-55 (21.8 percent) in the Sixers’ last three games, woefully below his season shooting percentage of 43.1.

“It’s been tiring. Obviously, I won’t lie, it’s my first time really going through a season averaging more than 35 minutes. Again, man, it’s about taking care of yourself. There’s a lot of things I can do that other people can’t. I’m sleeping all day, then probably going out and watching a movie or something. I’m in bed all day.”

Holiday’s ability to maintain his high level of play, Sixers coach Doug Collins said, is partially mental. Holiday, who’s in his fourth year, has done a decent enough job of metering his energy output — checking out of games at the start of the fourth quarter to keep enough in the tank for the final minutes, or saving something for the second game of the 20 back-to-back scenarios that are on the Sixers’ schedule.

Maintenance can be physical, too,” Collins said. It’s taking ice baths after games to sooth aches that might not be there. It’s getting a massage from one of the team’s trainers when he might not necessarily require one. It’s eating right and sleeping right.

“When you’ve got a charter plane waiting for you after the game is over and a beautiful meal waiting for you on that plane, a customized chair and you’re going to a five-star hotel and you’re getting in and you can sleep all day, it’s a little bit different from when I traveled,” Collins said.

“(Back then), you had a 5 o’clock wake-up call and a 5:30 bus to get to the airport to get on a commercial flight and you’d play later that night and, maybe, you’d steal two hours of sleep and you’d eat a hot dog in the airport. It’s a whole different world.”

••• Something about Brooklyn’s Deron Williams stands out to Collins.

“Yeah,” Collins said. “Fifteen to 18 less pounds.”

Williams, who began the season at 209 pounds on his 6-3 frame, has told reporters he spent down time during the All-Star break doing a three-day cleanse diet to detoxify his body. The result was a rapid weight loss that’s made his movement on the floor more fluid.

Considering Williams averaged 16.7 points per game on 41 percent shooting before the break, and has totaled 23 points on 48 percent shooting since, maybe he’s on to something.

“He’s strong, he’s quick, he’s one of the bigger point guards, which is always fun,” said Holiday, who checks in at 6-4, 205. “I try to think I’m one of the bigger point guards and he’s a little bit stronger than I am. Height-wise, body-wise and quickness, he has every component.”

••• There was a buzz at Barclays Center, and it had nothing to do with the Jay-Z records being spun by the in-house DJ.

The rapper and part owner of the Nets, Jay-Z announced he’s planning to sell off his small stake in the franchise in order to obtain his certification to become a player agent. By rule, an individual cannot earn his National Basketball Players Association agent certification and represent players if he or she is affiliated with a team.